Guest Blogger Tamara Benham

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HOW AND WHERE TO HANG ARTWORKS AND PICTURES

 

For those of you out there who may be Block-heads, either unashamed or closet, you may have noticed the emphasis put on the appropriate height to hang pictures. 

Anyone who knows me or has ever had a conversation with me regarding pictures knows that this is a huge point of frustration with me.

So here are some of my tips as to how and where to hang artwork and pictures in your home or office, including height and location.

 

MOST IMPORTANTLY!

How & Where To Hang Artwork/Pictures   Height & Location

Pictures should be at eye level. This means the picture/object should be hung so the centre line or horizon line (if it has one) sits between 1400-1500mm off the floor. This will mean the artwork sits comfortably within the space without having to strain, crook or crane one’s neck to view it. It also means it is accessible to look at closer at the detail in the picture.

 

MORE THAN ONE ITEM IN AN ARRANGEMENT

How & Where To Hang Artwork/Pictures   Height & Location

How & Where To Hang Artwork/Pictures   Height & Location

 

If you are hanging more than one picture of varying sizes or differing horizon lines, start with your strongest/largest/centre piece, determine it’s height and hang the others to match.

If they are all the same size, in most cases, they should hang at the same height.

If they are differing sizes, work on their center lines lining up horizontally as a starting point and then tweak from there.

Keep the gaps between each picture to less than 200mm to maintain a connection, even closer if it is a single image split into multiple panels (eg. triptych)

 

OVER A PIECE OF FURNITURE

How & Where To Hang Artwork/Pictures   Height & Location

Create a connection with a piece of furniture. Keep in mind the eye height rule and don’t just try to centre it between the piece of furniture and ceiling. The picture can end up hanging quite close to the top of a piece of furniture and, alas, once you put items on top they may even overlap the picture! Not a problem. This creates a nice relationship in your arrangement between furniture, picture and decorator items such as a lamp or vase.

 

RENTAL PROPERTY DECORATING

 

How & Where To Hang Artwork/Pictures   Height & Location

Leaning pictures on top of shelving, TV units, sideboards, bedside tables and even the floor can be very effective. Especially with large pieces that manage to fill the wall space nicely.

Multiple pieces along with lamps, sculptures, books etc can be clustered on a surface to create a story.

 

COMMON MISTAKES

Do not hang according to the height of doorways/windows/ceilings.

Do not try to centre the item between the ceiling and a piece of furniture

Try to avoid positioning a gap between pictures in the centre or eye line height of the arrangement. Your eye will subconsciously be drawn to this gap rather than the artwork itself. This is why using an odd number of pictures rather than even is often a better choice.

 

Tamara Benham is the other half of Gusha. 

Gusha is a print specialist located on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, producing vibrant canvas prints and acrylic face-mounted prints. 

Photographer Angus Benham is the guru in coastal photography from Sydney’s Northern Beaches, the NSW coast and southern QLD coast. 

Check out their work here

 

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